Real Madrid News
Ancelotti talks Rudiger, Tchouameni, Benzema, Bayern ahead of UEFA Super Cup
In less than just over 24 hours, Real Madrid will take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Super Cup in Finland. Los Blancos have won the prestigious trophy four times, but a win tomorrow would see them take their tally on par with Barcelona and AC Milan.
The last time Los Blancos participated in the Super Cup was in 2018, when they lost 4-2 to Atletico Madrid in Estonia. Four years later, the team will look to change the result and come out on top.
Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the press ahead of the awaited game and covered topics ranging from his thoughts on the opposition to the starting lineup on the night. Here are the snippets from the manager’s press conference as revealed on Real Madrid’s official social media handle.
The Italian coach first acknowledged the strength of his opponents on the night and revealed his thoughts on their Europa League win last season.
“Eintracht deserved to win the Europa League. They beat strong teams.”
Barcelona and Bayern Munich are the only top European clubs to win a sextuple in recent history. When asked about the possibility of Real Madrid winning all six titles this season, Ancelotti replied,
“It’s possible. We will fight for all the competitions. It’s gonna be very tough but we will try.”
The manager then spoke about the quality in the squad and was confident about pulling off a favourable result against Eintracht.
“I have faith in my team. We have a better squad now than last season.”
Despite being initially linked with over five world-class players in the transfer market, Los Blancos signed only Aurelien Tchouameni and Antonio Rudiger. Ancelotti spoke about the new additions in the squad and what was expected of them.
“We have signed two players who have improved our squad. Rudiger and Tchouameni bring quality and power to this team.”
Real Madrid’s pursuit of a new backup striker has been the talk of the town in recent weeks. However, the manager played down the rumours and elucidated that it was not a priority.
“He’s irreplaceable right now. But we have Rodrygo, Asensio and Hazard.”
Surprisingly, Ancelotti then revealed the starting lineup for the Super Cup clash and confirmed that the new signings would not be taking part.
“The team who won the Champions League will start tomorrow.”
The interview then proceeded towards the direction of his managerial career. Ancelotti did not hesitate to call the last season the best of his career before revealing the reason for the same.
“I think last season has been the best season of my career. I had never won the league and the Champions League together.”
Finally, the interview concluded with the Real Madrid manager’s thoughts on the opposition and their recent demolition by Bayern Munich.
“I watched the Eintracht game against Bayern. They’re a dynamic team that we know very well. To beat them you have to fight and fight.”
According to AS, Atletico Madrid have made the first approach for Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga, who has also been linked heavily with a move to Real Madrid and Arsenal.
The 20-year-old midfielder has emerged as one of the most exciting young prospects in Spanish football this season, having already netted nine goals in La Liga.
It has alerted a series of top-level clubs, with the likes of Real Madrid, Arsenal, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid all being linked with the youngster, who has a €40 million release clause in his contract with Celta.
Real Madrid are in the market for midfield reinforcements and have identified Jude Bellingham as their top target, but Veiga is also said to be on the agenda at the Santiago Bernabeu
However, recently, the Galician club’s president confirmed that there had been contact from clubs in England, but stated that Real Madrid had made no approach.
On top of that, a report from MARCA quoted a club source saying that they were not contemplating signing the 20-year-old.
Amidst this, it has now emerged that Atletico Madrid have made an approach towards signing Veiga from Celta Vigo in the summer transfer window.
The Rojiblancos are also in the market for new midfielders amid question marks over the futures of Saul Niguez and Geoffrey Kondogbia.
While Diego Simeone’s side have taken a first step, the report indicates that Veiga, in case of the absence of interest from Real Madrid, would prefer to join Arsenal.
So, the Colchoneros will need to put in efforts to convince the 20-year-old to choose them over a move to the Premier League club come summer if they are serious about adding the talented youngster to their roster for next season.
